Marcella's story continues:
Marcella stands naked in the courtyard, trembling uncontrollably in the cool morning air, utterly terrified after seeing the instruments of her impending torture. The torturer was almost like a teacher, patiently and precisely explaining the function and use of each instrument. To imagine those horrible things being applied to her body was unimaginable, as though she was trapped in nightmare from which she could not awaken. She is sobbing, the tears running down her cheeks. She would run, but to where? The courtyard is surrounded by a high stone wall. At the far end is a wooden gate, closed and barred. At the other end of the courtyard is the dark entrance leading down to the depths dungeon where she spent the night.
There is no place to run!!! Marcella remains as still as possible, her legs together, one hand covering her crotch and a forearm placed over her breasts. She is desperate to hold onto and shred of dignity. A nearby wooden door, set into the stone of the courtyard wall, opens with a loud creaking sound on its rusted iron hinges. Three men enter the courtyard. They are soldiers. She recognizes the first one as the Decurion who arrested her in the market yesterday. He is accompanied by two subordinates who walk behind him. The men are not in full kit, no shields or helmets, just knee-length tunics and mail body armor. Each has a scabbard and short sword at his waist.
Marcella has never been naked in front of a man, only in the baths with her sister, Thessela, and other females, or in private confines of her home. She turns her back to them, trying to hide her womanly parts from their gazes. She was a proper young lady, brought up to be chaste and pure. The perfect gift for her husband, someday. This is horrible being naked in front of so many strange men! Her face flames bright red in utter embarrassment.
The soldiers walk briskly by her, hardly looking in her direction. The Decurion stops in front of the torturer as he stands beside his table of instruments.
“News from the magistrate.” States the Decurion. “The legionary assaulted by this girl’s sister has died. Seems when she hit him with the pot she really scrambled his brains. The medicus reported he was dizzy and nauseous last night. Didn’t turn out for first formation this morning. His mates found him dead in his bunk. The medicus is certain it was due to the blow to his head. Some sort of hemorrhage, he said.” The Decurion glances back at Marcella, shivering and naked, listening to this report. His eyes, at first cold and dark, soften as he stares at young Marcella’s nakedness.
Marcella wonders, the dread thought rising in her. Is Thessela in trouble now too? Oh please! No!
The Decurion turns back towards the torturer. “The magistrate wants us to find the sister. She is to be arrested for murder. Do what you must to get any information about her whereabouts from this one.” He points to Marcella.
“Girl,” he addresses Marcella, “if you want to save yourself a lot of pain, be forthcoming with what you know.”
The torturer nods his head. “Please tell his honor that she’ll tell us everything. However, first I require some assistance from your men. Please have them place the girl on my table over here.” He points to what appears to be two beams of wood in an X-shape attached to a pedestal. The beams have manacles at their ends for securing wrists and feet so that the victim is spread eagle. The X-beams are attached to the pedestal with a tilt mechanism. The table top X-beams are tilted forward, ready to receive its victim.
Marcella eyes open wide in horror as she looks at the table, desperately trying to comprehend what is about to happen to her.
The Decurion also looks at the torture table. His disgust is evident in his face as he tries to imagine Marcella’s delicate, nude body stretched over it, in preparation for her torturer. He sighs. “Take her,” he commands, “and do as he asks.”
Marcella is still in shock at hearing about Thessela. She doesn’t even hear the Decurion’s command. Suddenly, rough hands grab at her arms, pulling them to the side. Her nakedness is fully revealed.
“No,” shouts Marcella, “no, no, please don’t do this.” She screams, twisting in their grasp as the two men drag her toward the torture table. She digs in her heels, and her legs lose their strength. Her body drops to the ground, to her knees. She looks up at them, pleading with them. “Oh please, don’t. I don’t know anything. I can’t tell you anything. Please, please,by all the gods, don’t do this to me!”
As the men drag her to her feet she loses bladder control, and a rush of warm urine gushes out of her, splashing down between her legs.
“Better she pisses now than when I’m working on her.” States the torturer, a cruel grin on his face.
The torturer tilts the torture table forward as the soldiers pull Marcella’s body over the upper beams and bind her wrists with manacles. The back of the table is covered with iron studs, that dig into the flesh of her back. Marcella screams at the top of her lungs and the table is slowly tilted back. She feels her feet leave the ground. She screams and screams, in utter terror of what is happening to her.
Once the table is horizontal the torturer locks the tilt mechanism. “Now, bind her ankles.” He directs the soldiers.
With lascivious grins on their faces the soldiers pull Marcella’s thighs apart and manacle her ankles to the far ends of the X-beams. The iron studs dig deeper into her back, compelling Marcella not to writhe on the table. She lifts her head and stares between her heaving breasts down the length of her body. The men are staring between her legs, at her exposed pussy! She struggles against the manacles around her ankles. She cannot close her legs! She is utterly exposed and defenseless, at the mercy of her torturer, and under the gaze of these strange men. The men who bound her to the table clearly have bulges in their crotches. Marcella, the innocent young maiden, suddenly realizes those are from their erections! Her heart races as she contemplates being raped. Her butt sits at the edge of where the two beams of wood are crossed. Her virgin pussy is at the edge -- defenseless!
“You may stay, Decurion, if you wish.” States the torturer. “You may appreciate some of the finer techniques I use to extract information from this girl.”
Marcella stares over at the Decurion standing nearby. He has a look of disgust on his face. He doesn’t approve of this, she thinks. “Please, sir,” she addresses him, “please, please turn me lose. Don’t let me be tortured, please! I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m no escaped slave! Whoever said I was is lying. Please sir, please help me!”
“He can do nothing for you, girl.” States the torturer, now at her side. He evil eyes running up and down her glistening, naked body. “He has his orders as I have mine.”
The Decurion gives Marcella one last sympathetic look, then turns and exits through the courtyard door, his men following. He’s going to look for Thessela, thinks Marcella, and I am here to be tortured. Her chest rises and falls in terror as the torturer stands over her.
“Now, dear girl, where shall we begin?”
Marcella squeezes her eyes shut. She tenses, in terror, not knowing what to expect. She is breathing heavily, and sweating profusely in the cool morning air. Her heart is thumping in her chest. A shiver runs through her body as she feels hands running along the insides of her thighs. Her eyes fly open wide to see the torturer standing between her legs. He holds an object in his hand. It’s the pear!
‘No, not that!” Marcella screams as she feels the cold metal pressed against the opening to her vagina.